If it were me I would ban the way cafe’s wrap the cutlery in a paper serviette, tightly, that it is a mission to unwrap, and pretty obvious something was wet when it was done. That is all.
Monthly Archives: December 2011
A Circle Jerk – The NZ New Year honors role call.
171 people to be recognised in the New Year 2012 New Zealand Royal Honours.
Aside from Ralph Hotere who’s dedication, focus and single-mindedness to his art which, which like it or not (the art) deserves recognition, there is little of merit in the other 170 names on the list.
Ok, so I’ll back down a little and some of the names, those give selflessly and without reward probably deserve some wider recognition, and it is likely that within their own circle, their own community they are fairly well-known, or at least renown for their work, even if most people never have contact with them, or are likely to.
Haters gonna hate right? Not really. I’ve never understood the glee with which we recognize people for doing their job.
“For services to Business” Spare me.
“For being a Rugby Coach” Give over! What if the All Blacks hadn’t won the RWC?
“For services to the State” – so for being a career public servant. Beggars belief.
There are a lot of unfathomable examples of awards, to a myriad of unknown people in unknown jobs. Fair play to them (mostly), but I question the reward for “doing your job”.
I’m sure that if these accolades came with a big cheque then there would be slightly more scrutiny and not a “Meh” when they are published.
via Prominent artist tops New Year honours (+ list) – National – NZ Herald News.
Beer – #2 in a series
Today; Fullers London Pride
What can I say except this is a solid beer. Right on my beer button, middling taste not as harsh as a pale ale, and for me like a beer should be.
9 arbitrary stars out of 10 arbitrary stars
In the court of public opinion – #1
In the case of a 16yo in Turangi A particularly tasteless sex crime against a girl 5.
Thankfully public opinion and sentiment isn’t the deciding factor in what if any punishments are due. There isn’t much doubt about guilt, the teen, by all accounts, turned himself in, and is in custody, bail declined, for the duration. The story will be one of why, and how. And we will all have an opinion on that.
But is you’ve been unfortunate enough to read some blogs then you’ll find things like this, all anonymous all ignorant and all rabid;
- “Hopefully this scumbag will be jailed. He will last about 5 seconds in prison.”
- “He should be fucking shot”
- “he big pity is … the cunt is only 16 and will create a feeding frenzy for lawyers, psychiatrist and the like all at our expence, besides that in jail nowadays most of the crims are in for similar shit, they will just fuck him.”
- “16. Disgusting. And of course will likely not be convicted due to his age. Appalling.”
- “I REALLY hope that the judge refuses name suppression in this case.”
- “It’s well past time minors got automatic name suppression. Hang em high”
- ime for a little social justice me thinks….Should get a lynch mob together outside Taupo youth court for a public castration and flogging. What a piece of trash cant wait till his lawyer (probably tax payer provided) blames his tragic upbringing.”
And that’s just from just one blog!
Twitter had is share of agony aunts and uncles, with one long and ill-informed back and forth about nature over nurture that I was (As was the whole of connected twitter) watching (or participating in).
Bottom line is not a one of us knows, and not a one of us will get to decide on this. The worst thing about this whole episode, in my opinion, is the level of faux outrage that people have. The crime was sick and distasteful, all crimes against children are, but with a little nudge from the media and we have a circus born. And to the circus come the freaks, freaks with opinions, bloated, self-important or ill-informed, all there at one outlet or another.
This is the price we pay for democracy on the internet of course, we’re all allowed our say and we’re all at liberty to share it with who ever we like, where we like, and how we like.
Casting aside even our own sense of moral right and climbing on the high horse of public outrage doesn’t end well. We’re increasingly like a school of sharks who encircle the next victim with a savage onslaught, only to move away quietly to the next victim, out faux outrage dissipated.
We’ve had this Faux Outrage at events such as, Pike river, Michael Laws, Garth George, The Tea Cup fiasco, the Rena accident, and just about any time there is a child abuse case spread across the media.
It’s ok to be disgusted, and to be confused by events that you don’t have any control over, really it is, however it’s not ok to assume that you are the arbiter of outcomes. It just doesn’t work that way.
just saying.
Beer – #1 in a series
Today It’s Fullers Honey Dew ‘Organic’ beer.
It’s a bit ‘flat’ and tasteless but does have a strange under-taste, It could be the honey.
On the Pdub-o-meter it rates an arbitrary 7 out of 10. You couldn’t make a night of it and there aren’t many redeeming features, but there is comedy section on the label on the back that has a serve with suggestion.
Trying Teen Times – the grown up one – Part the Fourth
It’s really difficult being a parent, especially one to a newly unemployed child. Unemployed because he quit at university, and has suddenly discovered that jobs are not like food in the pantry, always there (at least at home), but that you have to go hunt one out.
Not having a clue of course, and reluctant or willfully ignoring, advice, it’s suddenly dawned on him that he has to get his A into G and find something.
Like a bull at a gate he goes at it. Today we have the “What I.T. courses should I study?” to which I reply that I’d told him 2 years ago that he’d be advantaged by studying on and getting into something like VoIP. Today I have to tell him that it’s not like there is one qualification that’ll get him a job, it’s kind of bit specialized.
So I’ve sent him off to look at jobs he’d think he’d like to do, see what the qualification level is and go backwards from there, after all if he can find a bunch of “dream jobs” then he should plan to work towards them knowing what the bar looks like?
Unless I’m wrong.
Today the driver is that 5 1/2 hours ago we mentioned to him that it would be a plan to keep searching for a job, and to be sending off his CV. I should be happier but when he sits next to me with a gamestaionboy device I know he’s been more focussed on some qualification and experience in something that’ll do him no good and have no relevance in anything he wants to do in life.
Honda CRZ – a quick drive around the block
MrsPdubyah had a call from Honda NZ, “would we please go drive one of their new cars?” She declined but knowing I’m an easy touch made them ring me. Of course yes, I’m always a bit keen for a bit of a thing.
They offered the Insight, I laughed, but I did say that I’d be keen on the Honda CR-Z, and so it came to pass, for a jolly entertaining and rewarding hour.
They had a white one available so I sat myself in had the pre-flight lecture and took off.
Initial thoughts: There are a few things missing inside, like an arm-rest – which is a big deal if you’re a commuter having to sit for an hour or more in traffic, somewhere to rest your arm is important – to me. And the view from the rear-view mirror is somewhat obstructed by the strange high boot lid design, not the end of the world, but restricted.
The steering wheel was a confusion of switches and buttons, some not so easy to get to, and some that did things that I didn’t really get.
The dashboard! What can I tell you! it was like being in Tron – the movie.
The rev counter / speedo came in glorious blue. If you’re being frugal the circle around the speed indicators turns green, if you’re driving it with a lead foot it goes red, mostly it stays blue, a veritable disco dashboard.
The CR-Z has heaps of in drive view options on the dashboard if you keep tapping the buttons, some I got - like distance travelled, average speed, but others not so much, technology for the sake of it, or that fact that I hadn’t read the user encyclopedia. I had a look at it, not in it.
You can select – on the move – one of three drive modes, Eco, Normal and Sport. And the computer sorts it out. Accelerator bursts of energy are augmented from the battery – oh yeah it’s a hybrid – should you need it, and it has a flappy paddle gearbox.
In the Eco/Normal mode if you flip the flappy paddle, say to change gear to overtake, it changes to that gear for 90 seconds before reverting back to automatic mode. In sport if you change gears with the flappy paddle then you’re driving it in manual mode, it doesn’t switch back (I’m sure it has over-rides to make sure it doesn’t blow up). Very trick, 7 gears, very smooth, and very fast. Very fast.
And talk about economical – I drove it a bit harsh and it peaked at 5.9 liters per 100 kms. No wonder it’s only a 40 litre tank! I could get used to that economy on the commute.
Weirdest feature – the auto-stop. Honda have the technology that cuts the engine when you stop at a junction or lights, release your foot from the brake and it’s instant on and away you go, not ideal in some circumstance but interesting, very trick, and a bit confusing at first.
Worst thing – it has 4 seats, and unless your passenger has no legs – no way – not ever- would you get anyone else in the back of the car. Worst thing (2) I have no idea where the front of the car was, it disappears over the front of the bonnet somewhere into neverland. I didn’t even attempt to reverse.
Missing Feature: no GPS. I’m sure it’ll get one eventually, but for the sake of a couple hundred dollars it seems a little odd.
Would I buy one? at $45,000 it’s a big ask, but if you do it’d be very rewarding to drive, it handles surprisingly well, and it would be cheap to fill and run. Is it practical? not for a family man no. Unlike other Honda cars I’ve driven this one has a bit of personality and verve. It’s looks will not suit everyone and is controversial, but then that’s never stopped Honda in the past.
The Honda CR-Z then, 8 arbitrary stars out of 10 arbitrary stars, drive one you’ll get it.
Christmas – the one the day after
Well that was a bit of a thing. Christmas at home instead of at the beach house.
Cocktails – we’d best not talk too much about those, the Cosmopolitans were in order for the ladies and I then made Margaritas, but I ended up drinking them all – and I’d made enough for a few.
We had my bromance friend around, he rarely visits but was forced to by his daughter. He came with a bottle of port, pre-dinner entertainment.
The Beef on the BBQ was just over cooked, I was working to instruction and the salads and other things were all wonderful. The Ham of course was magnificent.
During the lunch we discovered that my son’s girlfriend is related to David Bain. I don’t think we’ll be going to his house for a party any time soon to be honest.
The Public Purse – Having your snout in it, or how Parliamentary Staff Cuts are the fault of John Key.
Someone is making a story up. The PSA are a very noisy union all about feathering the nest of those that have been employed at the cost to the public purse, they are troughers.
I do have to say that that really is what a union is, the what’s in it for the worker, regardless of the cost to the work (employers) mentality. IT’s not about “fair” or “equitable” it’s about “protectionism”.
So then via Parliamentary Staff Cut – politics – national | Stuff.co.nz.
“The festive season is somewhat subdued at Parliament this year after advisers, managers, press secretaries, librarians and executive assistants lost their jobs.
Most of the staff employed within the parliamentary precinct are employed by the Parliamentary Service, which this year was reorganised in a bid to cut costs.
As with elsewhere in the public sector, back office functions are being amalgamated.”
All of which seems very logical and normal part of cutting your cloth to suit your needs – we’re not flush with cash as a country and there is over-population in some sectors of public service. Right then carry on :
“General manager Geoff Thorn said this had resulted in the senior management team being reduced from six to four.”
and
“Much of the reduction had been achieved through natural attrition but two librarians were made redundant, he said”
and
“Executive assistants to MPs are employed on fixed-term “events-based” contracts around each election. That means their contracts terminate when the MPs they work for are no longer members“
Well excuse me if Labour had better policy and leadership they’d have more MP’s, And that’s about the long and short of it. How does Brenda Pilott – http://www.psa.org.nz - get to her statement that this is only bad for opposition MP’s. And that this was picked up and re-tweeted by Trevor Mallard – who knows who pulls the strings.
When you realise that the PSA values are the core of the Labour party then it all becomes a bit clearer. The ‘facts’ are that rather than have a realistic outlook on what we can afford, or should have, we ‘need’ to have over staff, multiple layers of overlapping and duplicating services. The unions will fight tooth and nail to ensure that they draw every dollar out of their employer, in this case it’s about how many tax dollars can they get their hands on rather then it being available to essential services and the really needy.
The PSA then appear to want to be all about troughing at the public purse, with no accountability or any requirement to have efficiencies or productivity of any kind. Which is really scary. That the EA’s that are on contract and being let got get redundancy and doubtless some will be re-employed at a better or same rate seem appalling.
It’s just greed. Out and out self centered greed, and blindness to the obvious. And it makes me angry that someone would assert that something that happens every election, with regard to the EA’s, can only be a bad thing for the opposition even though the article says “The Greens and NZ First are currently interviewing EAs.” and that this clearly is the faulty of the new government and unacceptable to the union.
Frozen Shoulder – the one where it’s not
The good news is it’s not “Frozen Shoulder” and it’s just a tendon tear.
Cortizone will help to redce the swelling and free up the shoulder. At least that’s quicker than the 12-18 months
